Valley Bridge School, Gloucester
Data last updated 11 Sept 2026
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 1 year agoOverall
Ofsted Insights
What This School Does Well
Valley Bridge School is working hard to support pupils who have missed significant parts of their education. Staff are building strong positive relationships with pupils, and the school has recently started an early reading programme that is helping pupils gain confidence in reading. The school also provides a thoughtful personal development programme that teaches pupils to reflect on their emotions and understand important life changes.
Key Strengths
- Staff are building positive relationships with pupils and implementing an early reading programme that is starting to close phonics gaps
- The school has begun developing a personal, social and health education programme that helps pupils understand important life changes and develop emotional awareness
- Recent site improvements have created better learning and play spaces for younger pupils
- The school meets all independent school standards and has effective safeguarding arrangements in place
Areas for Improvement
- The curriculum in subjects like mathematics and physical education is not clearly defined, so pupils don't build knowledge systematically over time
- Teaching is not consistently adapted to meet individual pupils' needs despite each having an education, health and care plan
- Pupil attendance rates are too high, with the school's actions to improve attendance having only limited impact so far
- Staff subject knowledge is inconsistent across the curriculum, leading to variable teaching quality and inconsistent assessment of learning
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective, with clear policies and routines in place for monitoring and oversight.
Extracurricular Activities
Basketball, football, board games, arts and crafts, visits from industry experts (local craftsperson, sporting professional, military), charity fundraising, school council
Valley Bridge School is a new independent special school that opened in September 2024 for pupils aged 6-19 with communication, interaction, and social-emotional needs. The school requires improvement across all areas due to an unsettled leadership period and incomplete curriculum development since opening.
At a Glance
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
15 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View - % who strongly agree or agree
Class Sizes
0.0
Avg class size
0
Total classes
2024/25 academic year
Getting There
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
45%
Available places
54 pupils
120 capacity
66 spare places available
Area Demand Pressure - Gloucester
Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Gloucester
Admissions Demand - Gloucestershire
Places available
7,972
Applications
6,678
Got 1st preference
84.6%
Got preferred school
96.6%
Secondary admissions across Gloucestershire (2025/26)
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SEN Provision
How many pupils have special educational needs, what types of support the school provides, and how it compares to similar schools.
Pupil Demographics
The school's pupil mix - ethnicity breakdown, free school meals eligibility, and English as an additional language. Useful context when evaluating school fit.
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Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
Valley Bridge School
Willow Primary Academy
Harewood Junior School
Harewood Infant School
Waterwells Primary Academy
Kingsway Primary School
Grange Primary Academy
Hillside Primary School
Field Court Junior School
Hunts Grove Primary Academy
Calton Primary School
Showing 10 of 14 linked schools
Nearby Schools
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